This is why I'm never around these days.

Discussion
1

So not too long ago, I made the idiot move of dropping out of college for a semester for two reasons; this last semester burnt me the fuck out and I hated being a grown-ass man surrounded by fresh outta high school kids, and that school in itself was giving me the illusion of responsibility whilst I could be DOING something about my family’s financial state. I knew unemployment in my neck of the woods was bad, but THIS…

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/07/us-cities-unemployment-highest-lowest_n_845960.html

… took some actual legwork on my part to fully appreciate just how shitty this situation is. (My city is currently the second-worst in the nation.) The funny thing is, it’s been one of the fastest-growing for quite some time. You’ve got all this expansion, no frickin’ jobs, the ever-constant issue of immigration, with a few people taking credit unions for rides, then bailing, and you’re probably looking at, in terms of pure economic dollars and cent here, the worst place in the US to be. And as I haven’t had a paycheck since high school, I don’t qualify for unemployment. Big-ass catch 22 right there.

When people are telling ya that leaving college is a dumb idea, not because of education reasons, but simply due to the fact that financial aid beats trying to get a yob, man. I just don’t even.

tl;dr: Ice is broke and hates it, and REALLY respects anyone with people and responsibilities to look after because GODDAMN it I can’t understand how you do it.

Getting old sucks.

[laugh]

Fuck Ayn Rand, but dammit if the motor of this motherfucker ain’t comin’ to a grinding halt.

Sorry for the rant, Prongers, but man. MAN.

2

hey icepick. i lost my entire world savings to a bogus lawsuit.your visual talents are real. you come to this party place because you have others who are sympatico with your dreams. keep that shit going and you’ll be alright.we all have some extremely dark days. i treasure mine now, because they are instructive. don’t give up. afra will give you my home phone iif you need a sounding board.please.don’t,tgive up.otherwise, i will have to beat your motherfucking ass.that won’t look pretty.

3

Dude, I stopped school for a semester, and you know what I found out? The following semester would’ve been paid for gratis, because it was in the winter hours and no one went. I blew that, and then blew more money to attend to join a field I ultimately want nothing to do with now (time + money, unrealistic).

Don’t let it break you. You’re a strong cat, getting older doesn’t suck - you get more focused…AS YOU’RE SEEING NOW.

4

BTW - even if you ended up with a McJob, no one can judge you…as long as you bust your ass at it. Even videostore jizzmoppers have heart.

5

haha thanks for tl;dr to sum it up at the end there. well played.

hope you venting here has helped, even a tiny bit.

i dunno what else to say man, you’re right, it does suck. i know exactly how you feel. try and get back in school if you can, because the longer you’re out, the harder it is to go back.

godspeed you! black emperor.

7

Holy crap! California sucks, hahahaha!!! 8 out of 10 of the cities on that list are in CA. Damn!

Anyway, Bro, all the best to you. Do what you gotta do to take care of yourself (and any family you may need to cover). Hopefully you’ll be seeing better days soon.

8

I can sympathize a little bit. My financial situation is slowly getting bad. If I can’t get financial aid this semester I’m gonna be reduced to living off of $30 a week from my ssi. I don’t feel like getting into why that is atm. I haven’t had a paycheck from a job in over 2 years and I really am fed up with minimum wage jobs. Unless some little hole in the wall pizza place opened up I doubt I’m gonna work a minimum wage job again. Sounds like a cop out but fuck it. And I mentioned pizza. 3 out of the 4 jobs I worked were pizza jobs and I’d almost go back since it’s what I’m familiar with. I guess that’s kinda sad for someone who’s about to be 25 on wednesday and can only really make pizza. And my living situation sux but I’m not gonna start bitching about that bc it’s only temporary. I might start a thread bitching about my woman problems since that’s my main dilema atm. But I also know how you feel about going to school with a bunch of kids fresh out of high school. I’m going to a JC and we have a rec room there. I started hanging out there last fall before I became a student bc that sounded like the spot. There were some cool ppl that hung around but after becoming a student and going there last semester I grew bored. Everyone in there is into anime, playing D&D and video games, and looking at stupid shit on the net. I look around and realize I was a lot cooler at their age. Most of them aren’t passionate about music at all (let alone like I am). Then there’s the chicks. Even though they’re legal, they really don’t meet my standards. To sum it up with all of them, even though they’re smarter in terms of being booksmart I’m way more mature than most of them. Granted I’ve had some cool classmates that I can talk music with even though I’m not into all the same shit as they are.

But that really sux about ur situation. Talk to me if you wanna vent some more.

9

Sucks, man. Stay strong. I’ve seen some dark times too - though I’m sure nothing compared to some others on this board. I remember literally having <$20 to my name several times in college. For what it’s worth, my advice is to stay with school no matter what it takes. I saw far too many people stop for a semester and never come back. From a long-term standpoint, there are just too many good jobs that use a degree as a screener for you to just let it go. I certainly understand the age difference thing, but if you can somach it for a while, then in a few years when you’ve got a good permanant job, it’ll be worth it.

I’d say get whatever crap job you can and do it at the same time as school. I did cooking at a chain restaurant for my last few years of school to help wth the school bills. Perhaps something like that. Not fun, but it usually pays decently.

What’s your end goal? What do you want to do - both in the end and what sort of jobs are you looking for now?

10

college is excruciating. icepick, sometimes you have to look around, bow your head, look up and say fuck you.keeps it all real, my friend.

11

I’d say get whatever crap job you can and do it at the same time as school. I did cooking at a chain restaurant for my last few years of school to help wth the school bills. Perhaps something like that. Not fun, but it usually pays decently.

I worked all through college too. I always had at least one restaurant job so that I could get free food (most places, at least in my day, would let you eat a meal during a shift and you could also take something home). Yeah, I got pretty sick of Teriyaki bowls (changed to a Persian restaurant my last year partly to expand my dietary choices) but it beat having to pay for groceries.

Also, I don’t know if you’ve checked but most schools have a job board where there’s a bunch of community type stuff (yard work, moving jobs, babysitting, whatever). So many college kids are lazy as crap and those jobs are pretty much there for the picking for anyone with a modicum of effort. They’ll usually say whatever the minimum wage is on the card but you can always negotiate higher with the people that need the work (especially after you’ve shown yourself reliable to them).

I was so well known at the job center that the staff would just give everyone my name out and call me all the time for the most random of jobs. Anyway, a lot of it is crappy backbreaking work, but I did it to get through school . . . . so I could hopefully avoid ever having to do it again (so far so good).

Hang in there, Homies.

12

Yeah. Good luck.

mate.

13

I’ll have a long assreply in about an hour!!

Head-up brother you’re looking at some things all wrong!!

Don’t worry ol’ grmpy will set you straight! [:)]
Late,
grmpysmrf

14

And this is why I always come back.

[laugh]

You guys kick ass.

If anything, it’s cool to know that contrary to what I feel, it’s not just me, and that people think I’m doin’ fine and still got a shot in the game.

Eureka: You and I must be the same dude. Goddamn it.

Gerda: Nothing like a death threat and a pat on the back to set a brotha straight. Haaah. You aight, and thanks for the praise.

JLW: Dude, I’d LOVE to be a jizzmopper. Wait, well, I wouldn’t love it, but you know what I mean. A paycheck with some gross stories to tell over a round of beer and cards? Hell yes.

carmangary: Almost joined the Army, too. Almost. I’ll keep that in mind.

bisquitodoom/Gunnar: Dude, wouldn’t you know it, just as soon as I decide to bitch, somebody hit me up that seasonal employment’s gonna start in a month where they work and they’re gonna use some pull, as they just lost like five people. It’s more waiting on ass until magic happens, but it’s a START.

Also, I have pestered the hell out of the career development center, to pretty much no avail. It’s tough, ESPECIALLY on campus. Still pestering, though. We’ll see whassup.

Olsen: [cool]

smrf: Dude… yes. This is why I like you. Stoked.

Errbody else: Mad respect. Didn’t mean to blow my frustration outta whack, but MAN. Stand up characters, all around.

15

Please go back; it’s a temporary sacrifice for a long-term gain. Just make sure that it is for something with which you can pay the bills.

16

Please go back; it’s a temporary sacrifice for a long-term gain. Just make sure that it is for something with which you can pay the bills.

Deal.

[:)]

17

[reply]Please go back; it’s a temporary sacrifice for a long-term gain. Just make sure that it is for something with which you can pay the bills.

Deal.

[:)][/reply]

Excellent!

BTW, one of my best friends went back at age 35 for a complete career change when her job of 14 years ended. She blows the traditional students out of the freakin water on the tests, and they all hate her. It got so bad in her classes, the teacher had to separate the traditional from the non-traditional students due to the disruptions the kindergarten kids caused. They are not there to learn; why waste their time and their parents’ money?

18

[reply][reply]Please go back; it’s a temporary sacrifice for a long-term gain. Just make sure that it is for something with which you can pay the bills.

Deal.

[:)][/reply]

Excellent!

BTW, one of my best friends went back at age 35 for a complete career change when her job of 14 years ended. She blows the traditional students out of the freakin water on the tests, and they all hate her. It got so bad in her classes, the teacher had to separate the traditional from the non-traditional students due to the disruptions the kindergarten kids caused. They are not there to learn; why waste their time and their parents’ money?[/reply]

THAT’S WHAT I’M FUCKIN’ TALKING ABOUT

Damned kids.

Next semester. Gettin’ back in the game. Taking nothing but generals, gonna get this motherfucker over with. Just a hoop I gotta set on fire and jump through.

19

[reply][reply][reply]Please go back; it’s a temporary sacrifice for a long-term gain. Just make sure that it is for something with which you can pay the bills.

Deal.

[:)][/reply]

Excellent!

BTW, one of my best friends went back at age 35 for a complete career change when her job of 14 years ended. She blows the traditional students out of the freakin water on the tests, and they all hate her. It got so bad in her classes, the teacher had to separate the traditional from the non-traditional students due to the disruptions the kindergarten kids caused. They are not there to learn; why waste their time and their parents’ money?[/reply]

THAT’S WHAT I’M FUCKIN’ TALKING ABOUT

Damned kids.

Next semester. Gettin’ back in the game. Taking nothing but generals, gonna get this motherfucker over with. Just a hoop I gotta set on fire and jump through.[/reply]

When I’m speaking, I have no issues with telling the students, “If you don’t want to be here, don’t waste your time. Right now you are wasting my time and everyone else’s time.” It usually shuts them right up.

20

That’s the classiest damn thing. I’ve had two instructors in my life do that. One was my Free Enterprise teacher whom I suspect is a Free Mason and operates the local shadow government. The other was my Electronics teacher in high school who, being in the Air Force, ran his class like a legit como shop and was the biggest hardass this side of Full Metal Jacket.

Hell yes.

21

^
Hahaha!!!

I used to get dumb kids pissed at me all the time. I’d just tell the professor, “See that jackass with the brown sweater in the third row? Yeah, he’s cheating. He’s got the test answers slid under his sleeve. Just thought you should know.”